All She Needed
by shlyn-25
Summary: Emma couldn't sleep after her return from the Enchanted Forest. Her mind kept buzzing with what Henry had finally called her. All she knew was that she needed to see him, but what would she say? I own nothing. Please Read and Review!


Emma's mind was reeling with flashes from all that occurred in the Enchanted Forest, but the most vivid picture was her return. Henry had called her 'mom.' She turned over in her bed once more, trying to catch any glimmer of sleep, but her brain just wouldn't have it. All day she had had a sort of knot in her stomach ever since she had embraced her son for the first time in what seemed like forever. His cry kept ringing out in her ears, that one little word causing so much havoc in her system. She knew she was his mother, and he knew it as well, and she knew she loved him more than anything in any world. She knew the day he had come knocking on her door that she would do whatever it took to keep him safe, but she never imagined she would be his mom.

The day in the hospital when she had to look upon his lifeless form and try and accept the fact that the only person she had ever truly loved was lying dead before her nearly destroyed her entire reality. She would never forget the ache in her chest or the suffocating force on her lungs that had crashed over her as she entered the sanitary room. That minute she was completely broken and she did the only thing that felt right, to say goodbye one last time and tell him what she had yet to tell him. With the three most powerful words anyone can ever say, and a light kiss on his cold forehead, she said goodbye to the love of her life. When Henry bolted up in the hospital bed and said "I love you too," with his normal gusto, Emma was sure her heart would explode from fright, happiness, and love. In that second she vowed to never lie to him again and to always believe in him no matter what.

Emma sat up in bed and placed her head in her hands, rubbing the fatigue from her eyes. She had to see him. She had spent too long away from him in the past ten years, that time was over, she was going to be his mom, but that would come in the morning. Right now all she needed was to see her boy, and know that it all hadn't been a dream. With a new found determination she pulled on the red leather jacket over her pajamas and slipped on some shoes before grabbing her keys and leaving the apartment as quietly as she could. The ride to Regina's house seemed both short and long, while she was driving it felt as though she would never get there but then as she pulled up she couldn't remember getting there so quickly. Being as stealthy as possible she crept around to the side of the very large and regal house and counted the windows. Hoping to everything that she hadn't miscalculated, she found a few loose rocks on the ground and carefully threw them up towards her target. She waited a few seconds after each stone. After her fourth throw a light flipped on in the window and she held her breath waiting to see who would emerge. The window opened slowly and a rumpled head of brown hair emerged, "Is somebody down there?" a sleepy voice whispered out.

"Henry, its me," Emma walked out of the shadows and waved up at her son.

"Mo—Emma!" he waved excitedly. She caught his slip and brief moment of sadness blurred her mind, but that would be fixed later. "What are you doing here?"

"Is there a way you can get down kid? I wanna talk." Emma didn't want to say everything through a window and she wanted to hold her boy. Henry pondered her request for a moment before answering.

"Meet me at the back door by the kitchen, see you in a bit!" with that the window closed silently and Emma did as she was told and made her way to the back of the house. She had to laugh at his rebellious enthusiasm, recognizing herself. She began to worry when it seemed to take Henry an awful long time to meet her. She peeked through the windows in search of him, but didn't see anything. What if he had gotten caught? She would never get to see him again. Right as horrendous scenarios began running through her mind a small creek emanated from her left and she turned expecting the worst. Henry slipped through the door and ran to meet her open arms.

"What took you so long kid, you had me worried," Emma looked down at his still sleepy eyes.

"Sorry, the stairs are really creaky," He smiled up at her and wrapped his arms around her middle once more. "What's going on? Is everything ok?" he asked, the strangeness of this midnight visit beginning to settle in.

"Everything's fine, lets go for a walk, sound good?" Henry nodded and without hesitation took her hand as they automatically headed towards what was once the sight of their castle. The first few moments were silent, both just enjoying the other's presence. Emma was trying to figure out what exactly she wanted to say, when she had driven over her only thought was that she needed to see her son, but now she knew she wanted to talk to him about what had happened that after noon and how she had felt when they had broken the curse. "I missed you."

Henry stopped at hearing his mother's words and he looked up at her face which was downcast. "I missed you too, Emma, so much. I'm so glad you're home." Emma smiled down at him and then swallowed hard before saying her next piece.

"I think I'm ready to know my operation cobra nickname Henry. Will you tell me?" she had thought a lot about how she wanted to bring it up and their old game seemed the most comfortable way to do so. Henry's eyes seemed to widen at this prospect and it was his turn to look down at his feet. He hadn't meant to say it earlier, it had just slipped out, and he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. He was just glad to have her home. He dug the toe of his sneaker in the ground.

"What if you aren't ready? I don't want you to leave." Emma could hear the choked sob in his voice and her heart broke at his confession. She would have to prove to him that she was ready and that she wasn't leaving. She wanted this more than anything.

"Henry, look at me," she pulled his chin up trying to look into his eyes "I—I love you, I love you more than anything in this world, or the next. When I you were—when you were dead, I didn't want to live anymore, because I had lost the only person in the world I loved, and the only person who had ever believed in me. I will never ever leave you, because I can't live without you, and I can't stand the thought of ever doing anything to hurt you. I came out here tonight because I couldn't sleep and all I knew was that I had to see you. Today, when I got back, I realized that I never wanted to be away from you again—I don't want to be your mother, Henry, I want to be your mom. If you'll let me, that is." Henry hadn't moved during her little speech and it took a moment for the impact of her words to sink in. tears began brimming over his eyes and he nearly collapsed into his mom's arms.

Emma caught him and pulled him close, not sure if this was a good reaction or not. She sat back on the ground and pulled him into her lap. One arm wrapped around his waist while the other gently stroked his hair softly. Henry had never felt so loved before, and that day he had never been so scared that Emma would leave. He was so scared that he would scare her off. She was his best friend, and to him she would always be his mom, but he wanted it to be a two way street, but he didn't know if she was ready. And now he finally had a mom, his mom, and she was holding him in the middle of the night because she missed him. This is what having a mom felt like, and he would never let it go. "I love you, mom, I love you so much," he choked out between tears. He looked up without removing his arms from around her neck. Emma could no longer hold back her own tears as she looked down at her boy.

"Oh Henry, I love you too," They sat like that for what seemed like hours. Emma occasionally kissing his forehead or running her fingers through his hair. He listened to her heart beat, trying to make his slow down to match hers. Eventually his breathing began to even out and Emma could feel him begin to fall asleep. "Henry, we need to get you to bed," she tried to pick him up but she felt him shake his head against her neck. "We can't stay out here buddy, you know I want to, but you need sleep, and we have to get you back."

"Please don't make me go back, I want to stay with you," Henry had just gotten his mom, he couldn't let her go yet. She could see the pain and fear in his eyes and she knew she wouldn't be able to argue.

"Alright, we'll come up with something, now come on its late," she took his hand and they began their walk back towards town. Henry's feet were dragging with fatigue as they neared the yellow bug and he managed to fall asleep on the short ride back to the apartment. Emma didn't even bother waking him, she lifted his small frame out of the car and his arms instinctively went around her neck. She smiled to herself as she made her way upstairs to the apartment. Just as quietly as she had left, she snuck back in and upstairs to her room where she tucked henry into the bed and then after discarding her shoes and jacket, joined him. There was a split second, as she looked over at her sleeping son, that she panicked. What did she know about raising a little boy? What on earth would they tell Regina? What if she couldn't stay with him? These thoughts, however, didn't last long when Henry curled into her, tucking his head in the crook of her neck. She gently put her arms around him holding him close and all her fears were quelled.

Her mind stopped buzzing and sleep came easy now that Emma had the only thing she had ever needed. She had her family.


End file.
